


Hipper learns to sign

by mrsredboots



Category: Honor Harrington Series - David Weber
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-29
Updated: 2013-11-29
Packaged: 2018-01-02 23:23:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1062888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrsredboots/pseuds/mrsredboots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hipper the treecat learns sign-language and is finally able to talk to Rachel, the girl he adopted some years earlier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hipper learns to sign

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thehandsoftime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thehandsoftime/gifts).



Hipper the tree-cat, once known as Bark Scratcher but now preferring his human name, looked over his shoulder and, bracing himself on his true-feet and hand-feet, waved a true-hand at Rachel Mayhew, his person, in farewell before running off to join the other treecats of Harrington Steading. 

Lady Harrington – Dances on Clouds to almost all the treecats – had just returned from a prolonged stay on one of her other worlds with Laughs Brightly and Golden Voice. Laughs Brightly had been badly hurt – Hipper hadn't quite gathered how, or by whom, but Dances on Clouds had been hurt, too, and the bonded pair had been thought dead – and had lost his mind-voice. This was, Hipper knew, something that occasionally happened to one or other of the People, and it was something that everybody dreaded. But, Rachel had told him the previous day, Golden Voice and a friend of Dances on Clouds had been working out a way for the People to talk, not only to Laughs Brightly, but also to the humans with whom they shared their lives, and they were going to visit Golden Voice who would sing them the memory-song of this language so they would all be able to speak it. As Hipper understood, it, it wasn't exactly speaking, either with mouth-noises or properly, with mind-voices as the People did, but some kind of speaking with the hands, tail and ears. Well, he would soon find out.

Hipper had not been born on this world, but had come with Golden Voice and Laughs Brightly and their kittens, who used the human names Jason, Cassandra, Achilles and Andromeda. Several other treecats had also chosen to accompany them, when it had been decided that they must plant colonies on other worlds, as the humans had, lest their home ranges be destroyed in the humans' wars. They had not realised, until they arrived, that they would have to share the humans' nests – no, houses was the word they used – as most of the world wasn't fit for People. But there were some familiar trees, and when possible, the 'cats would congregate in them as they were doing now.

An hour later, everybody was playing Frisbee on the lawn and then at lunch they had fun practising their new language while sharing their meal with their human friends. Not everybody had bonded with a human, but they all liked and respected the humans whose lives they shared. Hipper was bonded to Rachel, but he was very fond of all her family. Nevertheless, he was glad when evening came and he and Rachel could be alone in her bedroom.

“We'll have to practice,” said Rachel. “I don't think I'm very good at reading sign language yet!”

[I am not good at doing it] signed Hipper. [But if we work hard, you will understand me. I always understand you!]

“I know you do!” said Rachel, and gave him a cuddle. “And maybe you can help me persuade Daddy to let me go to Saganami Island and join the Navy.”

[If that is what you want. But why? You not like hurting people!]

“Well,” said Rachel, “If I can make you understand, I expect I'll be able to make Daddy understand! You're right, I hate hurting people, and I don't want to kill them, if I can help. But I do want to be able to learn more about how starships are made, and to see if I can help design them and make them. And the best place to do that is on Manticore. Here, they say I am too like a boy, and that I should be more interested in girlish things, and they won't let me study maths and engineering and the stuff I really want to study. Not properly, anyway!”

[Your mother did,]

“Yes, I know – but she had to study at home, and I want to study in a class with other young women – and men, of course, and maybe even treecats – who also want to learn the same things. And if I become a midshipman, I'll know all about it from the inside. Would you really hate it if I did the course?”

[Not hate it. Not if you will like it.]

“I wish I thought you would enjoy it, too. At that, I wish I were certain I would like it. I might hate being in space – you've been in space, of course! What's it like?”

[Liked it very much! Needed to stay with humans, not go exploring, but still fun.]

“Isn't it very dark at night? You know how I hate it when it's too dark, and of course they don't put windows in spaceship cabins!”

[Is little lights, and big lights for daytime. Little lights for night. Then when morning comes, big lights come on.]

“So not horrible?”

[Not horrible! Would like to go back to space! Maybe would like navy course, too. Am named for Navy person, no?]

“Yes, for Admiral Franz Hipper, who commanded a fleet of sea ships, not star ships, back on Old Terra thousands of years ago. I don't know much about him, but we could look him up, if you like?”

[Maybe you show me how to look up?]

“I could do, but it is mostly reading. They don't have sound recordings of back then.”

[If can learn sign, can learn read! Maybe you teach me?]

“Well, I could. But I thought everybody says treecats can't read?”

[Easier to understand with mind-glow to help, but think could learn without. When we learnt meaning of mouth-noises, we learnt to understand without mind-glow cues, too.]

“Hmmm. I wonder if Samantha knows how to read. Maybe she could teach you, like she taught you to sign. And I think I only understand sign because of mind-glow! Oh, Hipper, it is so good to be able to talk to you properly! It was so frustrating before when I couldn't always understand what you were trying to say.” She buried her face in his fur, thus effectively stopping him from replying, and the two of them enjoyed their wordless bond for several minutes. 

Finally, Rachel's mother called up the stairs “Rachel! Bedtime!” and the moment was broken. Rachel had learnt some years earlier that Hipper did not tolerate disobedience in his person, and if she was told to go to bed, to bed she must go, even if she didn't think she was sleepy. So she obediently got ready for bed and snuggled down, ready for her mothers' visit to wish both of them “Goodnight!” Hipper bleeked with sleepy laughter as he signed “Goodnight!” to the two women. And Rachel's last waking thought was that with Hipper on her side, she should be able to persuade Daddy to let her go to Saganami Island.


End file.
